Dover – Calais Port – Calais Ville – Lille Flandres – Paris Nord – Paris Est – Strasbourg – Basel SBB

I was out of my hotel just after 7:30am. The walk to the port is only short but a first glimpse of the White Cliffs made for an interesting walk. The pedestrian entrance to the port is all but unmarked. I saw the signs saying where not to go, but not so many saying where I should be.

Inside, I checked in collected my pass and a cuppa from the tiny Costa stall. I rather liked this mural on the wall. Not quite sure it is how I would define the country but someone had given it some thought.

At 8:15 we were asked to board the transfer coach. All felt very early given the departure wasn’t until 9:45, and that I could see the ship a hundred yards away. All started to become clear as we left the ferry port and headed across town to the western terminal. This is largely a building site but remains of what I presume was the original station are still standing at the entrance.

The coach stopped beside a new prefab building and we were asked to get off. It turned out that this was where we would clear French customs. I had my photo taken (but no fingerprints taken, which surprised me as the machine was on the counter) and in no time at all we were back on the coach.

I felt sorry for one of the passengers who was in a mobility scooter that was only just able to manoeuvre on and off the coach, with multiple reversing movements. Once we were all back on board, a couple of the security officers put paper security seals over the doors, including the driver’s door, so that no-one could get in or out unnoticed as we drove back to the eastern docks. The idea of border security being dependent on a piece of sticky paper felt rather surreal!

This rather odd process only happens with coaches, apparently, and is really new. Our coach driver had never done it before. Back across town, we went through port security. Once the paper seals had been checked and removed, we all had to get off again, this time with our luggage to go through the security scanners. We then got back on board a second time and finally loaded onto the ship.

In my experience, foot passengers are usually the last to board, so it made a nice change to be first on and have the pick of seats for the crossing. For once, it wasn’t particularly busy so wouldn’t have been a problem as it turned out.

Despite a wet morning the crossing was very calm. Unfortunately at the French end foot passengers were last to be unloaded, indeed they were already loading cars by the time our coach turned up. It was a short drive to the terminal, with no further security process. There was a rather nice display about Louis Blériot in the terminal building, with one of the type of plane in which he famously crossed the channel.

There is a free bus that runs between Calais and the port every 11 minutes. The first one to arrive was tiny and our fellow passenger who was in the mobility scooter was denied entry, which seemed very unfair, but it was physically impossible for him to drive onto it as the floor was at the wrong level and there was no ramp.

I left the bus near to the station and I had a short walk around Calais, taking a look at the tower that can be seen from so far away, and is rather lovely when you look at it. They have a good quality of waterside graffiti in this part of the world. The photo here is of the old moat that surrounds the town, next to the station. The station itself is nothing special.

The journey to Lille passed uneventfully. I had a relatively short change before jumping onto the TGV to Paris. They are so impressive, gliding through the countryside at 200mph with no fuss at all. The Italian Frecciarossa is faster, but nothing like as quiet and calm, and isn’t double deck, either.

Arriving in Paris early on a Friday evening meant Nord was as busy as Euston had been yesterday. I know my way between the stations now and it was only a five minute walk to Est. Apparently they are building an underground walkway between the two, which is due to open in a couple of years. Personally, I will stick with the bustle of the Paris streets.

I picked up something to eat as it was now early evening. Love that I was given a small bottle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar with my meal. M&S, Waitrose and the like, take note!

It was dark by the time we left Est, so I saw nothing of the journey to Strasbourg or onward to Basel, but I’ve done it before. I do like Basel station, like many of the large Swiss stations it has wonderful murals on the walls, though it looks like one of them is being restored, or at least protected, at the moment.

I have a general rule that when I’m interrailing I don’t book the hotel until I’m on the last train of the day. My connections went to plan today, but I could very easily have ended up in a different city. I quite like Ibis hotels, you know what you’re getting and as tomorrow night will be spent on the sleeper train, I wanted something that I knew would be comfortable. Nothing in Switzerland is ever going to be cheap but actually I’d pay a similar amount if not more in a Premier Inn in the UK if I rolled up on the day.

I dropped my bags and went for a wander. I’ve not explored Basel before and had an evening to play with. I was immediately struck by the number of trams and lack of other traffic. On arrival at my hotel I had been given a free pass to use the trams on both days of my stay. What a great idea!

Tonight however, I would be on foot. I passed through the old town, with it’s busy street bars down to the Rhine. It is an impressive river. Not a lot was on the move but it still made for decent photos.

On the way back through the town I happened across an area of graffiti, which was rather impressive. I do love it when it is done well.

I’m trying to pace myself a bit on this trip. Last week it was confirmed that I have, as I suspected, got arthritis in my hip and whilst I do need to use it as much as I can, it quickly becomes very painful if I overdo it. I would have liked to walk some more but I knew my time was up for tonight. Clearly, crossing Europe by train is exactly what I needed. Use it or lose it, right?!